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JERRY TARDE, Chairman and Editor-In-Chief of Golf Digest

Ed Travis, The Position.com

David Hueber – “In the Rough”By ED TRAVISDavid Hueber has been around the golf industry for four decades, a lot of the time holding very responsible positions including a stint as president and CEO of the Ben Hogan Company. This gives him a unique vantage point to view and review the industry from course operations to real estate development to the actual manufacture of golf clubs and his book tells some very interesting tales.“In the Rough: The Business Game of Golf” relates Hueber’s journey in golf beginning as a caddie at the club where his father was the professional and where he learned to play well enough to get a scholarship to Florida State University. He describes his time on the FSU team as, “I played without distinction,” but it was enough to convince him though career as a touring pro may have been out of his reach he wanted to be in the golf industry in some way.An entry level job with the National Golf Foundation gave him the chance to see the inside of course development, meet Karsten Solheim the founder of Ping and hear the stories of other golf equipment pioneers including Gary Adams of TaylorMade, Tom Crowe of Cobra and Ely Callaway of Callaway Golf.These incidents are all interesting but when Hueber took a job working for Deane Beman at that time Commissioner of the PGA Tour his experiences become a lens to the changes in the golf industry. Best known as the head of Ben Hogan Company when it was owned by Japanese entrepreneur Minoru Isutani’s Cosmo World, Hueber also ran Pebble Beach as president of Ben Hogan Properties, another of Isutani’s companies.Isutani preferred to stay behind the scenes but hit the news in an unfortunate way when it was revealed he sold Pebble Beach for $350 million less than he paid.From this reviewer’s perspective there are two extremely interesting parts to “In the Rough” that will attract the attention of most everyone who loves the game. First is Hueber’s description of the comedy of errors and tragic misjudgment from which none of the participants came away unscathed, the “Square Grooves Controversy” between Karsten Solheim and the PGA Tour and the USGA. The offshoot of which almost 30 years later in his view is an ineffectual USGA reacting to changes in technology and struggling to control the performance of today’s golf balls and clubs. An unforeseen result of which are the 7,000 plus yards long real estate development dominated golf courses that are essentially unplayable by the average golfer.Then there are the many enlightening anecdotes and stories of Hueber’s relationship with Ben Hogan, perhaps the most enigmatic and dominant players of all times, who still came into the office everyday even after selling out to AMF in 1960. Heuber even tackles an explanation of Hogan’s so-called swing “secret” which allowed “The Wee Ice Mon,” as the Scots called him, control like no other player over the distance and trajectory of his shots. This at a time of persimmon headed drivers and of rubber band-wound liquid center golf balls so lacking in quality control a player was fortunate to find three or four in a dozen that were round and would fly properly.Hueber’s personal history is interesting but what makes “In the Rough: The Business Game of Golf” worth reading is the insight he provides to the events and some the biggest names in the game.In the Rough: The Business Game of GolfDavid HueberTCU Press246 pp.Paper with flaps. $32.50eBook. $15.95TOPICS: Equipment, Golf, Golf Business, Off course, Opinion, PersonalitiesTags:David Hueber, In The Rough ABOUT: Ed TravisEd Travis is a national award winning golf journalist and has had a life long love affair with the game. He has competed in tournament golf both as an amateur and as a senior professional and though his competitive days are behind him he still plays regularly and carries a handicap of 2. He and his wife live in suburban Orlando.

In the Rough: The Business Game of Golf is a fascinating book written by David Hueber…. one of the most influential figures in the game of golf over the past 25 years. In fact, most golfers have neverheard of David Hueber.Hueber does a terrific job taking the reader on a unique journey through the inner workings of the golf industry….which has never been seen before. He had a front row seat watching the process as well as having a hands-on-role in helping to shape four significant golf organizations from the 1980’s through the turn of the century. He was there as an executive with the PGA Tour during the formative Beman years, at the birth of its burgeoning business development, and played a role in building that enterprise.David Hueber was destined to be in the golf industry, but the path he wanted was to be a PGA Tour player. David’s father Bud was a golf professional back in his native Indiana who instilled a love and passion of the game for his son at an early age. He spent his youth mowing greens, caddying and eventually becoming an accomplished enough player to earn a college golf scholarship at Florida State University. He described his college golf career with humor saying, “I played without distinction.” He accepted his limitations and looked at other ways to get involved in the golf industry which he loved. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business and again after earning an MBA he wrote to every golf equipment company and golf association asking for a job. This ultimately led to him getting a job with the NGF (National Golf Foundation) and later a business career in marketing at the PGA Tour under Commissioner Deane Beman.He then became president and CEO of the Ben Hogan Company when it was owned by Cosmo World, a Japanese company. He also served as president of Ben Hogan Property Companies, which owned Pebble Beach. The central characters in the book are Ben Hogan, one of the five best players of all time and a highly successful golf-equipment executive and businessman; Deane Beman, who was a star amateur and successful professional golfer, developed the modern-day PGA Tour and served as its commissioner for 20 years, and wrote the book’s foreword; and Minoru Isutani, a wealthy Japanese entrepreneur who is probably best known for having lost $350 million on the purchase and sale of Pebble Beach. Some of the other costars include Jack Nicklaus, Karsten Solheim (Ping Golf Company), Greg Norman, and Ely Callaway Jr.I particularly enjoyed portions of the book when Hueber talked about his relationships with the legendary Ben Hogan. He got the job which he called the ‘opportunity of a lifetime’ to become the President and CEO of the Ben Hogan Golf Company and later Ben Hogan Properties Company (which acquired the Pebble Beach company). I learned some interesting information that I never knew about Hogan that Hueber wrote in the book. Hogan had lost most of his vision in his left eye due to hishorrific car accident back in the 1949. When Hueber asked Hogan why he never let on to anyone after all those years Hogan said, “It was none of their goddamn business.”He wrote that Hogan never wanted any chinks in his armor which is probably one of reasons Hogan struggled on the greens with poor putting after he came back from his accident.Throughout the book, whether discussing his upbringing back in the Midwest or his overseas student exchange experience in Bogota Colombia, I thoroughly enjoyed his writing style. When he wrote aboutnumerous business deals I was impressed that he made those chapters interesting and entertaining which is quite a feat.His book if filled with many great stories dealing with lessons learned about golf and life. Hueber saved the best for last in his final chapter titled ‘Hogan’s Secret’. It will grab the attention of every golfer as he discusses in detail the three occasions that Ben Hogan told him the secret to his swing. This book delivers on many levels as you get an insider’s look into the amazing transitions thatprofessional golf has gone through the past few decades.Hueber earned his PhD from Clemson University in August of 2012, where his dissertation research focused on sustainable golf course development; he also holds a number of golf patents. So next timeyou’re out on the course and struggling with the long irons thank David Hueber because he invented hybrid woods.These days David lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, with his wife Cindy.The book is 246 pages and the foreword was written by Deane R.Beman. TCU Press published the book.Tom Ward can be contacted at www.teetimewithtom.com

David Hueber, president & CEO, with Ben Hogan,chairman of the Ben Hogan Golf Company, August of 1989.